1740 - The November 1740 issue of The Gentleman's Magazine, printed at London, which includes a detailed fold-out map of Governor Oglethorpe’s attempt to capture St. Augustine, Florida

London, 1740. Very good. Sylvanus Urban (editor) The Gentleman’s Magazine. London: November 1740. Complete with all 48 pages and Thomas Silver’s fold out campaign map, “A View of the Town and Castle of St. Augustine and the English Camp before it, June 20, 1740.” The magazine measures 5” x 8”; the map 8” x 14’. (A map of Admiral Vernon’s capture of Chagres, Panama, is also referenced in the contents, however it actually appeared in the July 1840 issue of the magazine.) In nice shape.

In 1740, Thomas Silver rendered this pictorial map depicting General James Oglethorpe’s siege of St. Augustine and the Castillo de San Marcos which were defended (truncated) by Governor Manuel de Montiano and approximately 1,000 Spanish troops. Little is known about Silver other than that he was an English naval officer who served on the sloop, HMS Hector, under Sir Yelverton Peyton during the siege. Its extensive key and description provide details of the British force, which consisted of not just seven warships with 900 sailors but a 2,200-man ground force consisting of the 42nd Regiment of Foot, colonial militia from Georgia and Carolina, Hugh MacKaye's Highlanders, and American Creek, Chickasaw, and Yuchi (Uchee) Indians. Silver’s map identifies the warships and depicts them in their blockade formation. The Castillo, shore buildings, and English camp are correctly located and accurately portrayed. After Silver returned to England, his hand drawn map and notes were published in The Gentleman’s Magazine. . After receiving instructions from King George II in September of 1739 to "to annoy the Subjects of Spain in the best manner," Oglethorpe began the siege of St. Augustine in June of 1740 by blockading the city including the Matanzas Inlet. Anticipating the English siege, Governor Montiano had sent word to Havana for reinforcements and resupply as St. Augustine’s supplies were running low. However, even after a 27-day bombardment, English cannon were unable to breach the 19-foot-thick coquina walls of the fort with their cannon. And, after a severe tropical storm forced the British fleet out to sea but allowed the Cuban supply ships access to the harbor, Oglethorpe gave up and raised the siege on July 20, 1740.

(For more information, see Graboyes and Hullar’s “The War of Jenkins’ Ear” at the National Library of Medicine’s website, Laughton’s “Jenkins Ear” in the 9 October 1889 edition of The English Historical Review online, Baine’s “General James Oglethorpe and the Expedition Against St. Augustine” in the Summer 2000 edition of The Georgia Historical Quarterly, and Weir’s Yellow Jack: The War of Jenkins Ear: Historical Commentary.)

An important map of Oglethorpe’s Siege of St. Augustine still bound within in its original publication. At the time of listing, two disbound examples of the map are for sale in the trade. The Rare Book Hub shows 13 disbound examples of this map have been sold at auction in the past ten years. While OCLC shows many libraries have access to digital copies, only 12 appear to hold physical examples (some disbound and some within the original publication) in their collections. . (Inventory #: 010356)